Kara Maria Precious and Precarious

With vibrant, evocative compositions, artist Kara Maria draws us in. The radiating, energetic pieces may at first glance appear as purely abstract or geometric fields. However, as we look more closely at the colorful elements colliding, swirling, and layering across the canvas or paper, we encounter meticulously detailed paintings of diverse animal species.

The species she renders are either endangered or extinct due to the actions of humans. While some pieces may feature animals that have experienced a resurgence since first being declared endangered, many artworks chronicle species who remain endangered or have gone extinct. In this growing body of work, Maria challenges us to face the realities of humankind's impact on other animal species whose native habitats range from present-day California to the Arctic.

Precious and Precarious: Life on the Edge of Extinction features a series of paintings and works on paper from 2013-2021 that are part of this ongoing examination of threatened animal life. 

_{Image above: Kara Maria, The Sea, the Sky, the You and I, (Blue Whale), 2021, acrylic on canvas. Image courtesy of Anglim/Trimble. Photo by John Wilson White.}